Physical communication media (also referred to herein as simply “communication media” or “cable assembly”) include a cable having one or more connectors for connecting the communication media to one or more network entities. Such a network entity includes one or more mating connectors (e.g., jacks) for receiving a connector of the communication media.
Physical layer management (PLM) systems are systems designed to track connections between such communication media and a network entity, to provide network wide visibility to the physical layer connections of a managed network. Conventional PLM systems, however, do not have visibility to the signals propagating through the physical communication media. Thus, even though such a conventional PLM system can monitor which communication media is connected to which port of a network entity, such a conventional PLM system cannot easily determine whether the communication link over the communication media is operating properly. For example, a damaged (e.g., broken or cut) or otherwise defective communication media may prevent signals from propagating properly from one end of the communication media to the other. If both ends of such a defective communication media are connected to respective ports of respective network entities, the conventional PLM system may assume that the communication link is operating properly even though signals are not being sent properly between the respective ports.
Some existing optical communication media include a sensor within a connector of the communication media which can sense optical signals propagating through the connector of the communication media. Some such communication media also includes one or more LEDs on the connector which can be illuminated based on signals from the sensor to provide a visual indication to a technician within sight of the connector as to whether signals are propagating through the communication media. Such a visual indication provides an individual cable-by-cable indication of signals propagating through a communication media. These visual indications, however, do not provide a good network wide visibility to the signals propagating through the communication media.